The relationship between grandparents and grandchildren should be a joyous one. Grandparents and grandchildren have the unique opportunity to have fun together and enjoy life with their relationship, while spoiling each other mercilessly with gifts, hugs and kisses. As a parent, you can do your part to cultivate the relationship between grandparent and grandchild by learning what a special bond this can be for your children.

As soon as you have a child, your parents take on a new role. They become grandparents. Many have no problem with their new role and ease into the transition rather quickly, but others need boundaries and rules for the new relationship. It can be difficult to bring those rules and boundaries into your relationship, but you must ensure that your child is of paramount importance and that he or she is raised properly in the relationship with his or her grandparents.

There are a number of factors that can influence the relationship that your child will have with his or her grandparents. These factors must be taken into account when setting relationship boundaries between grandparents and grandchildren, as some concessions may have to be made due to circumstances beyond your control as a parent.

The Distance Issue

Your parents may live far away. This can make the development of a relationship between your parents and your child a complicated prospect. A long distance relationship can actually be a healthy one, however, with a little bit of creativity and innovation. You can even get your kids involved with the bridging of the distance gap and open their minds to the prospect of long distance relationships.

You can tell them that just because their grandparents live far away, it doesn't mean they care any less.

A few tips and pointers to deal with the distance issue between grandparents and grandchildren include:

Keep in frequent contact with your parents. Send them postcards or small notes in the mail or try to reach them through email. Have your children do the same and write their own postcards or their own email.

Try to plan phone calls, but don't overdo it. Children tend to be rather shy on the telephone and first, no matter who is on the other end of the line. If your child is a talkative one, though, the phone calls are a great idea.

Keep your parents “in the loop” about your child's activities and your child's interests. You never want your parents to feel left out of the lives of their grandchildren, so make sure that they are as informed as possible as to what your kids are up to.

Have your parents tape themselves reading a message or a story to their grandchildren. This is a great way to get some vocal contact established early on and create a connection.

Invest in a webcam. These small cheap cameras are great for communicating with your parents regularly and letting them visually experience your children from a distance.

Get your kids involved in the creativity of it and make it fun. Your parents will appreciate the effort you put into it and will love communicating with their grandchildren in any way they can.

Your Own Relationship With Your ParentsThis can be a tricky issue. You may not have had the best of experiences with your parents throughout your life and there may be some resentment there. You may have some anger issues with your parents for a variety of possible reasons, but you need to put your child first. Never bring those issues up when your child is present and always try to keep a happy mood when you are dealing with your parents in front of your kids.

The quality of your own relationship with your parents will have a tremendous influence on how well your kids get along with them. If your children hear you talking bad about your parents, they will likely mirror the same attitude. Your children will learn how to treat other people, including your parents, from how you treat and speak about other people. For this reason, always be on your guard when you are discussing your parents.

If you do not feel that your children would be safe with your grandparents or if you are concerned about the attitude and behavior of your grandparents around your kids, always be present when they are visiting and take your children home if you see something objectionable. Do not fight or bicker with your parents in front of the kids, but calmly let your parents know when you get back home with a telephone call or an email.

It is also possible that your parents may resent you. You may have married the “wrong man” or you may have upset them in some way. If you suspect that your parents may be talking about you negatively with your children, approach the situation calmly and tell them how you feel. These types of situations are never easy, but you must remember to keep in cool with your parents in front of your kids.

Availability

Today's senior citizens have changed considerably; they are taking trips, going out dancing and living it up on the social scene. For this reason, it may be harder to get in contact with your parents to arrange a visit with your kids. Your parents might be out on the town rather frequently and living up their older years by having the time of their lives. It can be difficult to arrange some visiting time with the combination of your parents' schedule and your own.

Your parents might still be in the workforce or they might be active retired people. Health concerns might also play a role here, as parents that are less healthy tend to have less available time for visiting. Still, the bond between your kids and your parents is an important one. Do what you can to work with schedules and make some sacrifices to take your kids to see their grandparents. In the end, your parents will be glad you made arrangements and your kids will have a ball.

The Important Bond The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is important. Your children can develop respect for older people, new relationships and can learn new things with a few visits to your grandparents. Your parents, believe it or not, actually have some life experience that they can pass along. By exposing your children to positive older role models, you are helping put their lives into perspective and giving them a balanced outlook.

Of course, visiting with grandchildren does wonders for grandparents, too. Grandparents, as many of us know, experience a whole new world of joy when they hear the pitter-patter of little feet or the exciting ring of the doorbell when one of their delightful grand-kids drops by. Visiting with their grandchildren is an invigorating experience and can bring happiness to even the gloomiest of situations. Enjoy your children's relationship with their grandparents and help them cultivate it. Set boundaries and be understanding, too. The bond between grandparents and grandchildren is a unique and special one.

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